* * * * * [Sidenote: Gruels] Barley, rice, oatmeal, corn meal and soy-bean flour are generally used. If the grains of the cereals are used, they must be cooked from three to four hours. As a rule, cereal gruels are made by cooking the flour and water for from fifteen to twenty minutes. Two ounces to the quart is about as strong as plain gruels can be made. _Dextrinized_ gruels may be made as high as eight ounces to the quart. Four level tablespoonfuls of the cereal flour weigh one ounce. As the soy bean contains no starch, it does not thicken when cooking. About 1 level tablespoonful to 3 ounces of soy-bean flour are used to the quart. One or 2 tablespoonfuls of barley, oat, or wheat gruel may be added before cooking to increase the nutritive value. One ounce of soy-bean flour, or 2 ounces of barley flour, to 1 quart of water makes a very good standard gruel. It contains 2 per cent. protein, 0.6 per cent. fat, 5.1 per cent. carbohydrates, giving a food value of ten calories per ounce, just one-half the value of milk. In certain forms of intestinal trouble in which cow’s milk is not assimilated, this gruel is valuable used with condensed milk. Malted gruels are made by adding 1 teaspoonful of good malt extract or diastase to a cereal gruel after it has been cooled. It should be stirred in very thoroughly. * * * * * [Sidenote: Vomiting] In artificial feeding “spitting” is usually an annoying symptom that does not indicate anything more serious than an overloaded stomach. This condition is usually relieved by lengthening the feeding intervals to four hours. On the other hand, vomiting usually indicates something more serious in a bottle-fed baby, especially if it is very persistent. It is usually a sign that cow’s milk, or the preparation of it, is not agreeing with the infant. It also indicates a digestive disturbance that should be treated only by the physician, who will probably change the formula. Occasional vomiting is sometimes due to too rich food and too frequent feeding. Lengthening the feeding hours and decreasing the amount of fat in the mixture will usually eliminate the trouble. * * * * * [Sidenote: Colic] This is the most common of all of baby’s troubles. It is often due to too rapid feeding either from the breast or bottle, and when there is a tendency to colic, the feeding should be slower. The baby should not be fed while it is suffering from colic, even though it seems that the drinking of warm milk relieves it temporarily. Hot water should be given every half-hour or hour until relieved. If the baby seems cold, hot water slightly sweetened, and a hot bath, should be given at once. A hot-water bottle may be placed near it as well.